Winning Football Teams

In Sports by Brock Bourgase

Last Sunday, the Detroit Lions played on Sunday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints. The young team, comprised of talented young draft picks, committed eleven penalties, including three personal fouls and were shredded by the efficient Saints who exercised control in their precise offensive sets and discipline on the field. Tonight, the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the Cleveland Browns. While the physical defense has struggled with league rules regarding hits to the head, the team has been remarkably consistent over the past twenty years, frequently making the playoffs and winning two Super Bowls. The Steelers have drafted late in …

The Importance of Being Reasonable

In Coaching by Brock Bourgase

During the first half of last night’s contest on Football Night in America, Mark Sanchez called an unnecessary timeout as his team approached the goal line within the two-minute warning. The Jets scored but left enough time for Tom Brady and the Patriots to answer back with seconds remaining in the half. Interviewed at half-time, Rex Ryan called Sanchez’s actions “the stupidest play in football history.” Obviously hyperbole, Ryan’s remarks suit his intense personality. It seems to suit the New York defense perfectly and feeds their aggressive personalities. With a young quarterback, such comments may have the opposite effect.

Delay of Game

In N.C.A.A. Basketball by Brock Bourgase

Hockey fans and media members are awash in consternation after a recent game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers. Wednesday night, the Flyers responded to the Lightning’s 1-3-1 zone by holding the puck in a formation reminiscent of North Carolina’s “Four Corners” offense. Twice, referees blew the whistle and called for a face-off due to the inaction.

Drive

In Books by Brock Bourgase

Ryan Gosling’s unnamed protagonist is as enigmatic as Drive itself. Mixing genres between film noir, tragic hero and 1980s crime thriller, Drive certainly showcases a fair amount of style as it could have been directed by Miami Vice’s Michael Mann. When it endeavours to tell a story, it falls short because the film relies solely on the viewer taking it all in from afar rather than scrutinizing the brush strokes. Undoubtedly, the film is unique as Gosling’s character, who works as a getaway driver, auto mechanic and stock car racer. He is elusive at first when he is introduced as …

The Amateurs

In Books by Brock Bourgase

David Halberstam wrote The Amateurs about the 1984 United States Olympic Rowing Trials. The author was alternatively fascinated with current affairs, American culture and sports. Many of his works seek to determine why events unfold as they do and his athletic works try to explain why people motivate themselves and how they work together. The Amateurs tells the stories of young men who are auditioning for the single sculling boat in the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics. In 1984, there was little media coverage of the sport so there is little chance for fame and fortune. The Soviet Union and Eastern …

What Basketball Can Learn from Hockey

In Sports by Brock Bourgase

With an N.B.A. lockout underway until further notice, hockey and football must substitute as excitement for basketball fans these days.  Also, Canada is a hockey country and the sport is destined to get all the love on television.

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Broken (Bullpen) Telephone

In Leadership by Brock Bourgase

During Game 5 of the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals were placed at a disadvantage when a miscommunication occurred between the dug out and the bullpen and incorrect pitchers were warmed up. Consequently, the Texas Rangers score two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, enabling them to win a pivotal game.

Of Gods and Men

In Films by Brock Bourgase

Trappist monks who lived in the monastery of Tibhirine existed in harmony with Muslims in the mountains of Algeria until a civil war erupted in the 1990s. Seven monks were captured by the Armed Islamic Group and were killed two months later, although the exact circumstances of their deaths remain unclear. Director Xavier Beauvois revisits the tragic events in his film, Of Gods and Men, chronicling how the monks debated whether or not to remain in North Africa amidst rising tensions between Christians and Muslims. The monks weigh the issue thoroughly, understanding that although they play no role in the …

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

In Mental Training by Brock Bourgase

Coaching young players, it is important to look on the bright side of things. Focus on what might happen in the future, rather than what didn’t happen or what went wrong. Emphasize what the team can start doing now do improve later, not what they can’t do or must do. Maintaining the balance between a positive team culture and an expectation of high standards tests a coach’s ability but it can pay dividends down the road. The regular season is not a final exam but a homework assignment to prepare for the end of the year. As long as the …

Learning from the 2011 Boston Red Sox

In Sports by Brock Bourgase

Good coaches promote ownership of the program by all of the stakeholders. Everyone – players, coaches, trainers, support staff and sometimes parents – is responsible for the team’s success. Some may contribute more than others but everyone needs to know that what they provide to the process matters to the outcome. Every action, from individual workouts to practices to meetings, enables the team to progress towards its goals. When a program experiences success over a long period of time, generating this feeling of ownership becomes easier; people want to be involved in success and become willing to take initiative and …

The Interrupters

In Films by Brock Bourgase

In many respects, The Interrupters showcases the dichotomy of documentary filmmaking: the execution of the film is flawed but the story is spellbinding. Shot over the course of a year, the documentary follows “Violence Interrupters” affiliated with the group Cease Fire as the roam the streets of Chicago’s most at-risk neighborhoods, mediating confrontations and diffusing dangerous situations. The group’s goal is two-fold: to reduce violence as much as possible because acts of violence beget violence and lobby to address some of the root causes of which violence is a symptom. The group is founded by a doctor named Gary Slutkin …

Moneyball

In Films by Brock Bourgase

Salary caps and sabermetrics do not seem suited for the silver screen but Moneyball entertained an audience for a couple of hours and recounted a reasonably true story. After star free agents Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane enters the 2001 off-season wondering how to win an unfair game. For two years, the Athletics had made the playoffs but lost to the New York Yankees, a team with almost four times the financial resources. Unlike Michael Lewis’ book – which accurately describes the Oakland front office and the philosophy which had been in …